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WWF-US 2016 ANNUAL REPORT
Everything is connected. From the Arctic to the Amazon, our choices and actions—for good or ill —affect us all.
At times, it seems the environmental movement reduces
itself to numbers and prices and markets and other mea-
sures of success, or the lack thereof. I know the saying
goes that if we can’t measure something, we won’t be able
to save it. And while numbers can certainly be inspira-
tional, I’d argue that the truth is more nuanced than that.
Make no mistake: I am absolutely devoted to delivering
results that last, at a scale commensurate with the
challenges we are facing. But I also love the words and
imagery that motivate so many of us who have made
conservation our life’s work—from Muir to Matthiessen,
from Carson and Stegner to Bierstadt, Cousteau, and
Ansel Adams. Because the sublime beauty and genius of
creation, or evolution, exceeds our grasp, inspires and
humbles us, and reminds us that we cannot afford to lead
our lives in a way that ravages the planet and drives other
species to extinction.
Side by side with the poetry of our work and the beauty of
the planet we seek to save, our work is existential; we all
want to leave something behind after we’re gone. But it is
important to be honest with ourselves about the real dif-
ference we’re making for the planet. Are we changing the
trends that are leading to the planet’s destruction? Are we
building movements that lead to people consuming less,
producing more, voting differently, in a way that positively
impacts the planet we all share?
Those results often—but not always—can be measured by
numbers. And, as I’ve said, numbers can be inspirational.
Whether that’s acres protected, or parts per million of CO2
in the air, or the increased population of fish in the ocean,
or the number of tigers that still remain in the wild. And
we sometimes get far away from that kind of specificity in
the language we use to talk about our work. But if we are
to honor the trust that our donors and investors put in us,
and make a real difference with the gift of their hard-won
money, we must hold ourselves accountable in this regard.
Conservation does not yield results within anything
resembling a predictable time frame. But there are those
moments when things come together at a scale that
matters. On those occasions, you can mark the date and
you can measure the impact in a way that is unequivocal.
Luckily, the world has seen many such events.
For example, the set-aside in 1872 of 2,219,776 acres in
Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho as Yellowstone National
Park—the world’s first national park. That audacious act
not only preserved a landscape that lives large in the hearts
and minds of Americans; it also created a movement that
President & Chief Executive Officer
Carter Roberts
The Languageof Conservation
Nothing is rich but the inexhaustible
wealth of nature. She shows us
only surfaces, but she is a million
fathoms deep.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
quickly became global. Now there are nearly 7,000 national
parks in more than 100 countries around the world.
It’s also hard to argue with the scale of the Wilderness Act,
passed in 1964. The legislation created a way to designate
“wilderness areas,” which are still the nation’s highest
form of land protection. The act also created the National
Wilderness Preservation System as a means of manag-
ing these pristine wildlands, and placed an inaugural 9.1
million acres into its care. Today the wilderness system
protects nearly 110 million acres across the country.
It was these measurable conservation successes that
helped make the following numbers possible: Protected
areas now cover more than 15.4% of the world’s land area
and 3.4% of the global ocean area. Every country in the
world has some form of protected area system. And these
protected areas—categorized as national parks, wilderness
areas, strict nature reserves and more—are the gifts that
keep on giving. They store 15% of the global terrestrial
carbon stock, help reduce deforestation and habitat
and species loss, and support the livelihoods of over
1 billion people.
But in order to ensure these lands are permanently
protected, we need more than just a listing on a piece of
paper. That’s why WWF and our partners use a funding
approach called Project Finance for Permanence (PFP)
that is all about the numbers. The PFP method takes a
meticulous scientific, financial, and quantifiable approach
to securing permanent and full funding for protected
areas, or networks of protected areas, and ensuring their
long-term financial stability.
WWF first used the PFP approach in Brazil, where we
joined public and private entities to raise $215 million
to create, consolidate, and maintain the country’s 150
million-acre network of 114 protected areas. The network,
called the Amazon Region Protected Areas program, is
almost three times larger than all US national parks
combined and represents 15% of the Brazilian Amazon.
Now WWF is testing the PFP approach in a number of the
world’s most important conservation areas, with an initial
focus on large-scale areas, most of which are dominated
by forests. Our current PFP work includes projects in Peru,
Bhutan, and Colombia. Taken together, the PFP work
in Peru, Colombia, and Brazil could protect 15% of the
entire Amazon biome. We’re exploring how to translate
that approach—and our work quantifying the natural and
economic value of ecosystems—in the Arctic as well.
And there are also important numbers like this: Nearly a
quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions are the result
of agriculture. But people have to eat. So what’s the
answer? WWF believes our commodity certification
2 WWF-US | 2016 ANNUAL REPORT
28%26% percentage of greenhouse
gases US agreed to
cut by 2025
–
programs go a long way in creating a solution that works
for the environment, for communities, and for businesses.
Seventeen percent of global palm oil is certified by the
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. Close to 10% of the
annual global harvest of wild-capture fisheries is certified
by the Marine Stewardship Council. And more than 400
million acres—or approximately 10% of the world’s working
forests—meet Forest Stewardship Council standards.
WWF helped create all three of these certification pro-
grams and plays a key role in supporting them to this day.
These measures matter, and they represent the best work
that we do.
There are other measures that delve more deeply into
the profound connection between people and nature—
none more so than the 17 Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) which all 193 UN member states formally
agreed to support last fall. The SDGs are particularly
significant because, for the first time, the UN’s global
development goals link the health of people to a thriving
environment. And later that fall, at the Paris climate talks,
many of the same nations that endorsed the SDGs also
committed to hold global warming to well below 2°C
above preindustrial levels and to pursue strategies to
reach only a 1.5°C increase.
These global commitments are far from perfect. But their
success is fundamental to the future of humanity and
the world, and so WWF has embraced them as the major
frame for our work. Because our conviction is that it’s not
only about WWF and our own goals, as important as they
are and as strongly as we believe in them: A safe and
sustainable future is about how we help the world reach
the bold goals it has set for itself.
Earlier this year, I received an email from a friend who
asked, “How do you drive an organization focused on
impacts, results, and increased performance if you don’t
organize your flagship reporting and communications
around those impacts and results?”
The first answer is that we select goals that are important
to our organization and to the world at large. The second
is that we connect those goals to the biggest initiatives we
undertake—so we know we are pursuing initiatives at a
scale that matters and that also allows us to hold ourselves
accountable to progress and performance in communities
around the world. Doing so requires us to construct our
initiatives so we can measure their social and ecological
impacts, in the same way that businesses measure market
share or hospitals measure improvements in human health.
And with our chief scientist Rebecca Shaw and others
throughout WWF, we are developing a protocol that
WWF-US | 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 3
86% percentofglobalfishstocks at risk from illegalfishing
compels us to measure our contribution to these targets
embraced by the world. We are choosing projects and
priorities more shrewdly, and increasingly taking stock
of our progress using meaningful indicators. And on the
basis of that information, we are committed to remaining
nimble, so we can course-correct as needed if we find
ourselves offtrack.
The truth is, there are many things we cherish that cannot
be measured. But we know the world safeguards those
things that it values, and invests in those things that
convincingly make a difference. At WWF, we are working
stubbornly toward a time when our shared responsibility
to nature is crystal clear, and our collective stewardship of
the planet exceeds the burden we place upon it. And as
always, we are holding ourselves strictly accountable—not
only to nature, but also to you.
The Paris Agreement After weeks of negotiations at the
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris,
196 nations signed on to a historic plan to curb climate
change and limit global temperature increases to 2°C
above preindustrial levels, and aim for only 1.5°C. China
and the US, the two largest emitters of carbon pollution
in the world, made significant pledges: China will peak
its carbon emissions by 2030, and the US will cut
greenhouse gases by 26%–28% by 2025. Both nations
also formally agreed to the deal struck in Paris, building
momentum for the agreement’s early entry into force on
October 4, 2016.
Food for the Future We have long known that we cannot
succeed in our mission unless we solve the interconnected
threats of climate change and unsustainable food produc-
tion. So it was a true tipping point when the Gordon and
Betty Moore Foundation announced more than $90 million
in grants designed to decouple food production from
negative environmental impacts. The Moore Foundation
allocated $19.1 million over two years to WWF’s work on
the new Conservation and Financial Markets Initiative and
the Collaboration for Forests and Agriculture, and has also
formed a seafood collaboration that will include WWF.
Illegal Fishing Up to one-third of wild-caught seafood
imported by the US may be illegal—and globally, 85% of
fish stocks are at risk from illegal fishing. WWF presented a
petition to the Obama administration signed by more than
200,000 US citizens urging action to end illegal fishing for all
species of fish worldwide, and helping to elevate the profile
of this important environmental and economic issue.
The Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance WWF is one of
four nonprofit partners behind REBA, a consortium that
works to grow—and help satisfy—corporate demand for
The population of wild tigers has
increased for the first time in
more than 100 years.
4 WWF-US | 2016 ANNUAL REPORT
3,890 approximate number of tigers in the wild, up from 3,200 in 2010
renewable energy. So far the power of REBA has
resulted in corporate contracts that will produce over
six gigawatts (GWs) of new renewable energy in the US.
We are well-positioned to meet our goal of 25 GWs of
corporate renewable energy deployment by 2020, and
to expand REBA internationally.
Tigers WWF and the Global Tiger Forum announced that,
after six years of concentrated and collective effort, the
estimated number of wild tigers has increased for the first
time in more than 100 years. Approximately 3,890 tigers
now exist in the wild, an increase on the 2010 estimate of
as few as 3,200. The improved numbers are attributed to
rising tiger populations in India, Russia, Nepal, and Bhutan;
enhanced protection in many tiger range countries; and
improved means of tracking and counting tigers in the wild.
Sustainable Development Goals For the first time, the
UN Sustainable Development Goals recognized the link
between freshwater and its role in improving human
health. For more than a year, WWF pushed to secure a
dedicated and comprehensive goal that included clean
water and sanitation. Securing this language in the SDGs
opens the door for a deeper engagement between WWF
and the development community and overtly links the
well-being of people to the ecological health of rivers
where they live.
Apple In April, WWF collaborated with Apple on Apps
for Earth, a 10-day global cause-marketing and aware-
ness-building campaign connected to Earth Day that
involved the developers of 27 apps—including some of
the most popular in the world. The campaign was wildly
successful: It resulted in more than 3 billion potential
impressions on Twitter alone, and our WWF Together app,
which is available on both tablet and mobile phone, was
downloaded by nearly 400,000 new viewers.
So as this year comes to a close, I ask you to think about
not only what we love, but also what we can measure.
How many acres are protected? How much has the
world’s temperature risen? How many tigers can we find
in the wild? How much of the ocean remains healthy and
intact? Are we reducing levels of poverty and hunger?
Because the world has come together and set us on a
path that, if followed with conviction and determination,
could make the difference between outcomes that will
inspire us and consequences that will break our hearts.
Carter Roberts President and CEO
WWF-US | 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 5
equaled $8 million in proceeds and the attention of hundreds of millions of people
10days27 apps
2015
Red striped poison dart frog, Amazon rain forest, Peru
6 WWF-US | 2016 ANNUAL REPORT
New driftnet ban to benefitRussiansealife
July 1 | Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill banning large-scale driftnet fishing—a destructive practice used mostly by domestic and Japanese fishers. Set to catch sockeye salmon, driftnets have killed huge numbers of seabirds, whales, porpoises, and seals. The ban, long called for by WWF, went into effect on January 1, 2016.
WWF and DRC agree to comanage forest park
August 27 | The vast forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Salonga National Park support hundreds of communities and wildlife ranging from bonobos to forest elephants and pangolins. With a network of supporters, WWF will comanage the park with the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation to address illegal logging and biodiversity loss, and support local livelihoods.
WWF and partners receive license to save Thirty Hills
August 12 | WWF-Indonesia, working with the Frankfurt Zoological Society and The Orangutan Project, received a final license from the Indonesian government to manage and protect roughly 100,000 acres of tropical forest adjacent to Sumatra’s Bukit Tigapuluh National Park—for at least 60 years. The forest is home to critically endangered tigers, elephants, and orangutans.
Arctic nations collaborate on climate change
August 31 | President Obama and foreign secretaries of 20 nations, including all Arctic nations, met in Alaska and pledged to boost action on climate change. The leaders called for new investment to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and bring renewable energy to the region, helping communities save money while promoting sustainable economic growth.
Tribes rally to restore bison herds
September 20–24 | The Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeast Montana hosted a WWF-supported, locally led summit to educate youth about the economic, social, and health benefits of restoring bison to tribal lands. Results of a related survey revealed overwhelming support for expanding bison pastures and restoring a cultural connection to the herds.
World adopts sustainable development goals
September 25 | When 193 member states of the United Nations unanimously approved a new 15-year sustainable development plan, they centered it around goals to eliminate poverty, promote prosperity, and protect the environment. WWF has worked for years to ensure the plan includes the environmental elements that give it the best chance for success.
HighlightsFY16
2015
WWF-US | 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 7
Obama cancels Arctic oil leases
October 16 | The Obama administration announced the cancellation of two potential Arctic offshore oil lease sales in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas that were threatening the region’s future. WWF has been a consistent advocate for the protection of these wild and productive ecosystems, on which many communities depend.
IKEA commits to sustainable cotton use
October 30 | IKEA announced it had become the first major retailer to use 100% cotton from more sustainable sources. Ten years ago, WWF and several companies created the Better Cotton Initiative to advance sustainable cotton production and secure profits while greatly reducing environmental impacts.
Russia creates new national park
November 3 |The Russian government signed a decree on the creation of Bikin National Park in an area referred to as the “Russian Amazon.” Under the agreement, nearly 2.9 million acres of forests in the Bikin River Basin in Primorsky province will now be protected. The newly created park is home to the Amur tiger and the indigenous Udege people.
WWF leads the charge on food security
November 9–10 | WWF hosted a simulation and role-playing exercise to build understanding of how governments, institutions, and companies might interact during a future crisis in the global food system. A group of 65 private- and public-sector leaders from more than a dozen countries participated in the Food Chain Reaction game.
Tech groups team up to close information gaps
November 18 | WWF joined United for Wildlife, Google.org, and ARM in announcing the launch of WILDLABS.NET, a new digital portal designed to connect conservationists, technologists, engineers, data scientists, and entrepreneurs in finding, sharing, and creating technology-based solutions to evolving conservation challenges.
World unites with Paris climate deal
December 12 | After weeks of negotiations that followed years of preparatory work, 196 nations finalized a global agreement to curb climate change in the years to come. The final text of the Paris Agreement, which delivers on many of WWF’s key priorities, calls on those nations to continuously strengthen their climate actions over time.
2016
8 WWF-US | 2016 ANNUAL REPORT
Hong Kong signals to end domestic ivory trade
January 13 | The govern- ment of Hong Kong announced that it is actively exploring phasing out the domestic ivory trade, as well as strengthening efforts to tackle the illegal trade of ivory. The announcement came on the heels of WWF-Hong Kong submitting a petition signed by tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong.
Royal Caribbean and WWF partner for oceans
January 25 | WWF and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. formalized a five-year partnership designed to help ensure the long-term health of the oceans. The partnership sets measurable and achievable targets for emissions reductions, sustainable food, and destination stewardship, and will raise awareness among more than 5 million onboard guests.
Monarch action squad takesflight
February 27 | A 2015 survey of monarch wintering habitat in Mexico identified monarch populations that, while up from recent years, are still far below historic numbers. In addition to ongoing work with the governments of Mexico, Canada, and the US, WWF also launched a dedicated team of monarch advocates this year. By June 2016, more than 220,000 people had joined.
Efforttocurbaviationemissions expands
March 21 | WWF and an international coalition took aim at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the airline industry. Since international aviation emissions were not directly addressed in the Paris climate agreement, this effort focused on influ-encing the UN body charged with regulating aviation emissions, and securing a meaningful new agreement in 2016.
Governments commit to turnawayillegalfishing
March 30 | Gambia signed the UN Agreement on Port States Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. Reaching the 25-nation threshold allowed the agreement to enter into force on June 5, and now participating countries can more quickly and easily recognize illegal fish, turn away illegal products, and keep more fish in the sea.
US tightens regulations on captive tigers
April 5 | The US Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a rule that closes a regulatory loophole and will make it more difficult for captive-bred tigers to filter into—and stimulate—the illegal wildlife trade that threatens wild tigers in Asia. More than 450,000 WWF supporters called on the US government to help make this happen.
2016
WWF-US | 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 9
New tiger numbers signal key population gains
April 10 | Tiger range countries and WWF announced that the estimated total number of wild tigers has increased for the first time in 100 years—3,890 now as compared to 3,200 in 2010. While many tiger populations are still in decline, the increase can be attributed to improved survey methods and stronger protection efforts in some countries.
WWF and Apple team up on Apps for Earth
April 22 | After a 10-day collaboration with Apple on a global cause-marketing and awareness-building campaign connected to Earth Day, WWF received more than $8 million for our conservation work—100% of the proceeds from purchases in 27 participating apps, including many that featured new content highlighting our conservation focus areas.
Australia bans dumping in Great Barrier Reef
May 17 | In a landmark victory for the Great Barrier Reef, the Australian government signed a bill to ban dredge dumping in the World Heritage Site’s waters, closing for good a legal loophole that could have allowed massive amounts of seabed to be dug up and dumped into this fragile ecosystem. More than 360,000 WWF-US advocates added their names to a petition calling for the ban.
Myanmar assesses nation’s natural capital
May 20 | An assessment of Myanmar’s natural resources identified where those resources are located, what benefits they provide to people, and how they might change under different climate change and development scenarios. WWF hopes the assessment will inform policy decisions about economics, energy, agriculture, land use, foreign investment, climate change, and more.
Stronger US ivory regulations secured
June 2 | After a joint pledge made by the presidents of the US and China in September, US Fish & Wildlife announced new ivory regulations that impose a near-complete federal ban on domestic commercial ivory sales. This helps strengthen US leadership on wildlife crime and elephant conservation, and makes it harder for criminals to use the US as a market for the illegal ivory trade.
Michelin helps make rubber more sustainable
June 17 | The world’s largest buyer of natural rubber committed to eliminate deforestation, address labor rights, and improve tire efficiency in order to improve the product’s sustainability. The commitment jump-started WWF’s effort to address one of the leading causes of deforestation in Southeast Asia, source of most of the world’s natural rubber.
ARCTIC | AMAZON
Our planet’s story is much more than the sum of its parts, so any telling of our
work to protect it is necessarily incomplete. But through our work in the Arctic and
the Amazon—as with all of WWF’s work this and every year—we aspire to deliver
integrated solutions that can work at a massive scale. And because these two
places are so huge and threatened, and have such a powerful impact on the planet,
they serve as telling examples of nature, humanity’s impact and dependence on the
planet, and the many ways we are engaged with our planet every day.
Arctic ice and snow reflect the sun’s energy back into space, while dark water absorbs it. So as the annual extent of sea ice declines, Arctic warming accelerates, creating a feedback loop of ever-faster changes that are already impacting the rest of the world.
As multiyear sea ice decreases, access to resources that were previously unreachable—minerals, offshore oil, and transportation routes, for example—opens up.
The Arctic is also estimated to hold 13% of the world’s undiscov-ered conventional oil resources and 30% of similar gas resources; in 2016, more than 1 million advocates, including 270,000 from WWF representing all 50 states, called on the US government to ban future offshore oil leasing in the US Arctic Ocean.
amount that summer sea ice cover has
declined since the early 1990s
500,000 square miles
The Amazon’s forests are one of the world’s biggest carbon sinks, absorbing and storing massive quantities of CO2. Clearing those forests could release dangerous amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, accelerating climate change.
Agriculture is one of the biggest drivers of deforestation in the Amazon. By the turn of the century, cattle ranching alone accounted for 80% of the Amazon’s deforested areas, causing the region to emit 340 million tons of carbon each year.
In 2016, WWF, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and a host of partners launched a global initiative to expand efficient, sustainable, ocean-friendly, and deforestation-free food production, and to help drive the food sector away from production practices that harm nature.
90–140 amount of carbon stored in the
Amazon’s forests
billion metric tons
Unfavorable sea ice conditions caused by climate change are hindering seals’ ability to reproduce. That’s a big problem for polar bears, since seals are a primary source of food.
Research suggests that as polar bears lose more and more sea ice habitat to warming temperatures, they’ll come farther ashore in search of alternative food sources—bringing them into more frequent contact with humans.
WWF is supporting projects to reduce the risk of human-polar bear conflict in Alaskan and Russian communities via tackling climate change through our global policy work, and by helping to establish on-the-ground solutions such as polar bear patrols.
number of people
who live in
the Arctic4million
acres in the Amazon
identifiedasindigenous
territory
In 2010 there were 3,043 indigenous territories and similar areas in the Amazon, although not all of them were officially recognized. They represent 31.1% of the Amazon biome.
More than 300 languages are spoken in the Amazon, and indigenous groups there are culturally and ethnically diverse. Indigenous territories are generally managed in support of natural ecosystems, and are used as sources of food (hunting, fishing, foraging, small-scale farming) and natural medicine, and as central touchstones of cultural life.
The Amazon Region Protected Areas program—led by the government of Brazil and WWF—will, in combination with other protected areas and indigenous territories, secure almost 50% of the Brazilian Amazon.
million154
decline in the world’s polar bear population
predicted to happen by 2050 due to
climate-driven sea ice loss
Polar bears use Arctic sea ice as platforms for resting and hunting, but the region’s summer sea ice cover has shrunk an average of 14% per decade between 1979 and 2011.
The Arctic’s melting ice will have an impact on a host of other species as well, on every rung of the food chain, from sea ice algae and sub-ice plankton to walruses and whales.
WWF is developing maps that identify areas of exceptional biodiversity, climate resilience, economic opportunity, and local importance, and using them to help guide development away from the Arctic’s most ecologically vital places.
30%
The Amazon’s lush forests couldn’t exist without the freshwater pumping through their waterways. The Amazon River alone is the largest river in the world by water volume, and roughly 15% of all river water flowing into the world’s oceans comes from its mouth.
More than 34 million people live in the Amazon, including subsistence fishers who rely on its rivers for food and income. But deforestation and hydroelectric dams have negatively impacted the Amazon’s fisheries, while overfishing is causing some species—such as the arapaima—to plummet.
WWF is working to guide hydropower in a more sustainable direction, expand sustainable aquaculture opportunities, and protect more than 25 million acres of freshwater habitat in the southwestern Amazon.
4,345total length of the
Amazon River
miles
Modern society has been through three Industrial
Revolutions, and each one has taken its toll on the envi-
ronment. But now, there is a chance we can make up for
some of that damage—through what is being referred to
as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, now upon us.
All of the previous revolutions involved the advance of
new technologies—steam and water power; electricity and
assembly lines; computerization. This new revolution is
characterized by a fusion of technologies that blur the line
between the physical, digital, and biological realms. These
technologies are leading to better asset management that
could help regenerate the natural environment. And given
the speed at which the world is moving now, the fourth
revolution is already having impact at a rate that rapidly
outpaces the previous three.
The conservation possibilities opened up through the
Fourth Industrial Revolution are staggering.
When millions of people are connected through technology,
a virtual community is created and community-based
conservation takes on a new meaning. We saw this
through Apps for Earth, our extraordinarily successful
partnership with Apple that wove conservation messag-
ing and interactive content throughout 27 apps—including
some of the most popular. Together, we raised more than
$8 million for WWF’s global conservation work.
RevolutionTalk About a
We continue to see it in our ongoing campaign against
wildlife crime, which combines more traditional forms of
advocacy (billboards, magazine advertisements, op-eds)
with technology (social media campaigns, online appeals)
to create a global community response to the black
market trade in wildlife parts.
This global community spoke up with an unprecedented
1 million signatures on an online WWF petition in support
of new domestic ivory trade regulations proposed by the
US Fish & Wildlife Service. The regulations, now in force,
effectively shut down the commercial ivory trade within
US borders and will help dramatically reduce wildlife
crime overseas.
The development of Mermaid, an open-access, web-based
platform for coral reef data, is helping to create a new vir-
tual community for coral reef conservation. A collaboration
among WWF, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the
University of California-Santa Barbara, Mermaid will let field
scientists and other experts quickly upload underwater sur-
vey information. This is important because collecting data
on reef ecosystems is time-consuming, and the resulting
data is often not uniformly recorded or presented.
And WILDLABS.NET, a new digital portal created by WWF
and partners, connects scientists, entrepreneurs, and
Board Chairman Neville Isdell (right) with
Carter Roberts
other conservation-passionate individuals in a central,
open space. They can share information, ideas, and
resources in order to identify technology-enabled solutions
to some of the biggest challenges facing the planet today.
Historically, any actionable result in conservation came
out of laborious, time-consuming fieldwork. But the
beauty of conservation is that it is a living discipline.
So along with reinventing the notion of community-based
conservation, new data-collecting and asset management
technologies such as Mermaid and WILDLABS.NET allow
us to make better use of an especially scarce resource:
time. And as more technologies are invented and adapted
with conservation applications in mind, the time from
knowledge to action will be shortened.
Working together, we will make a revolutionary
difference for the planet.
Neville Isdell
Carter Roberts
Revolution
WWF-US | 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 25
Board of Directors FY16CHAIRMAN Neville Isdell Former Chairman & CEO The Coca-Cola Company, Inc. Atlanta, GA
VICE CHAIRS Urs Hölzle Senior Vice President Technical Infrastructure & Google Fellow Google Mountain View, CA
Pamela MatsonDean, School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences Stanford UniversityStanford, CA
PRESIDENT Carter Roberts President & CEO World Wildlife Fund Washington, DC
TREASURER Robert Litterman Founding Partner Kepos Capital New York, NY
SECRETARY Shelly Lazarus Chairman Emeritus Ogilvy & Mather New York, NY
Tammy Crown Portola Valley, CA
Brenda S. Davis Bozeman, MT
Jared Diamond Professor, Geography University of CaliforniaLos Angeles, CA
Leonardo DiCaprio Founder Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation Los Angeles, CA
Christopher J. Dodd Chairman & CEO Motion Picture Association of America Washington, DC
Lawrence H. Linden Founder & Trustee Linden Trust for Conservation New York, NY
Stephen J. Luczo Chairman & CEO Seagate Technology Cupertino, CA
Perk Perkins CEO The Orvis Company, Inc. Sunderland, VT
Michael Philipp Chairman Reykjavik Geothermal, Ltd. Amelia Island, FL
Mayari Pritzker Chicago, IL
John Sall Executive Vice President & Co-Founder SAS Institute Cary, NC
Roger W. SantCo-Founder & Chairman Emeritus The AES CorporationWashington, DC
Wang Shi Chairman & Founder China Vanke Co., Ltd. Shenzhen, China
Sharon Jones Youngblood Dallas, TX
CHAIRMAN EMERITUS William K. Reilly Senior Advisor TPG Capital, LP San Francisco, CA
DIRECTORS EMERITI Bruce Babbitt PresidentRaintree Ventures Washington, DC
Edward P. Bass Chairman Fine Line, L.P. Fort Worth, TX
Marshall Field President Old Mountain Company Chicago, IL
Kathryn S. Fuller Washington, DC
Hunter Lewis Co-Founder & Senior Managing Director Cambridge Associates Charlottesville, VA
Adrienne Mars Mars Foundation Jackson, WY
Gordon Orians Professor Emeritus, Biology University of Washington Seattle, WA
AnneP.Sidamon-EristoffChairwoman Emerita American Museum of Natural History New York, NY
As of September 2016
WWF-US | 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 27
National Council FY16CHAIR Perk Perkins Sunderland, VT
Ashley Melisse AbessMiami, FL
Nancy AbrahamNew York, NY
Denise AllenOakland, CA
Fabiola ArredondoGreenwich, CT
Mary BarleyIslamorada, FL
Eric BermanWoodinville, WA
Erik BlachfordSan Francisco, CA
Barbara BowmanSanta Fe, NM
Antoinette BrewsterCharlottesville, VA
Amanda Brotman-SchetrittNew York, NY
Virginia BuschSt. Louis, MO
Nick ButcherNew York, NY
Kevin ButtGeorgetown, KY
Lacy CaruthersSan Francisco, CA
Megan Reilly CaytenNew York, NY
Bobbie CeileyNewport Beach, CA
Richard ChowSan Francisco, CA
Leslie CoolidgeBarrington Hills, IL
Philippe CousteauWashington, DC
Peter CraneNew Haven, CT
Pamela DaleyDelray Beach, FL
Melissa Shackleton DannChevy Chase, MD
Santiago DunnGuayaquil, Ecuador
Cynthia EisenbergLafayette, CA
Robert EvansStamford, CT
Gail EylerLagrangeville, NY
Exequiel EzcurraRiverside, CA
John B. FordSan Francisco, CA
Lynn FosterPalm Beach, FL
Abigail Field GerryNew York, NY
Lloyd GerryNew York, NY
Hannelore GranthamBoston, MA
Jeremy GranthamBoston, MA
Katherine Eckert GrunderNew York, NY
Jennifer HarrisNew York, NY
Matthew HarrisNew York, NY
Stephanie Field HarrisChicago, IL
C. Wolcott HenryWashington, DC
Susan Cook HogansonOakland, CA
Lixin HuangEl Cerrito, CA
James IkerChevy Chase, MD
Susan K. IngHonolulu, HI
Pamela IsdellAtlanta, GA
Jeremy JacksonBrooksville, ME
Donald KanakHong Kong
Jamee Field KaneLake Forest, IL
Donald KarlLos Angeles, CA
Karen Garver KarlLos Angeles, CA
Charles J. Katz Jr.Palo Alto, CA
Anne KeiserWashington, DC
Robert KingNew York, NY
William LakeWashington, DC
Frans LantingSanta Cruz, CA
Nicholas LaphamWashington, DC
Wendy LeeRedding, CT
Thomas LovejoyMcLean, VA
Kevin MaloneFort Lauderdale, FL
Hugh A. McAllister Jr.Houston, TX
Laurie McBrideOld Snowmass, CO
Willard Wright McDowell IIKetchum, ID
Thomas McInerneySeattle, WA
Elisabeth MeekerChicago, IL
Nitzan Mekel-BobrovMalibu, CA
Jacqueline MorbyKey Largo, FL
JeffreyMorbyKey Largo, FL
Diane MoxnessAnchorage, AK
Jocelyn NebenzahlGlencoe, IL
Kenneth NebenzahlGlencoe, IL
Cheryl OlsethMinneapolis, MN
Gilman OrdwayWilson, WY
Julie PackardMonterey, CA
Victor ParkerSan Mateo, CA
Kyle PhilippAtlanta, GA
Trent PhilippNew York, NY
Shari Sant PlummerMalibu, CA
Singer RankinSanta Fe, NM
James RedfordFairfax, CA
Elizabeth ReillySan Francisco, CA
Alison RichardMiddle Haddam, CT
Marie RidderMcLean, VA
Rick RidgewayOjai, CA
Emily T. RowanChevy Chase, MD
Elizabeth SallSeattle, WA
English Grey SallRaleigh, NC
Virginia SallCary, NC
Vicki SantWashington, DC
Daniel SarlesBoston, MA
Julie ScardinaPoway, CA
Alan SeelenfreundSan Francisco, CA
Roque SevillaQuito, Ecuador
Susan ShermanGlencoe, IL
Brian SkerryUxbridge, MA
Scott SmithSonoma, CA
Sue Scott StanleyNew York, NY
Linda StoneBellevue, WA
Judy SturgisGardnerville, NV
Gregory SummeWaltham, MA
Aileen TrainWashington, DC
C. Bowdoin TrainChevy Chase, MD
Joel TreismanWestport, CT
Jennifer VogelHouston, TX
Donald WagonerNew York, NY
Karen WagonerNew York, NY
Wesley WangNew York, NY
Judith WatermanHillsborough, CA
Robert H. Waterman Jr.Hillsborough, CA
Loren WengerdJackson, WY
David WilcovePrinceton, NJ
Edward O. WilsonCambridge, MA
Justin WintersVenice, CA
Julie Ann WrigleyKetchum, ID
Irene WurtzelWashington, DC
IN MEMORIAMJames H. Clark, Jr.National Council1998–2016
As of September 2016
Carter RobertsPresident & CEO
Marcia MarshChief Operating Officer
Margaret AckerleySenior Vice President and General Counsel
Brad Ack Senior Vice President Oceans
Michael BauerChief Financial Officer
Valerie Blain-SmithVice President Human Resources
Jason ClaySenior Vice President Markets
Tom DillonSenior Vice President Forests and Freshwater
Paul HardyChief of Staff
Ginette HemleySenior Vice President Wildlife Conservation
Lou LeonardSenior Vice PresidentClimate
Terry MackoSenior Vice President Communications and Marketing
David McCauley Senior Vice President Policy and Government Affairs
David McLaughlinActing Senior Vice President Sustainable Food
Julie MillerSenior Vice President Development and Board Relations
Rebecca ShawSenior Vice President and Chief Scientist
As of June 30, 2016
WWF Leadership
FY16
Individuals $100,355,045 33%In-kind and other 79,845,124 26%Government grants 46,365,374 15%Foundations 26,543,278 9%Other non-operating 20,493,975 7%contributionsNetwork 17,934,104 6%Corporations 13,671,189 4%
Programs $259,505,203 85%Fundraising 32,750,779 11%Finance and 12,950,274 4%administration
30 WWF-US | 2016 ANNUAL REPORT
Financial Statements
FY16 was an exceptional year for WWF. From September’s record million signatures on a WWF petition to stop the slaughter of elephants, to December’s Paris climate agreement which delivered on many of WWF’s key priorities, to April’s announcement by WWF and the Global Tiger Forum that the number of wild tigers had increased for the first time in more than a century, WWF achieved extraordinary results in our global conservation work. But none of this would have happened without the steadfast support of our donors. Your commitment to WWF inspires us, and provides the affirmation we need to push even further. Thank you for making these conservation milestones possible—this year and every year.
Michael Bauer Chief Financial Officer
Revenues 2016 TOTAL 2015 TOTALContributions utilized¹ $ 161,063,488 $ 152,148,052
Government grants and contracts 46,365,374 48,459,713
WWF Network revenues 17,934,104 19,325,255
In-kind and other revenues 79,845,123 69,496,504
Total unrestricted revenues, gains, and other support 305,208,089 289,429,524
Expenses
Program expenses:
Conservation field and policy programs 165,607,069 163,243,875
Public education 93,898,134 83,621,363
Total program expenses 259,505,203 246,865,238
Supporting services expenses:
Finance and administration 12,950,274 12,609,079
Fundraising 32,750,779 29,866,442
Total supporting services expenses 45,701,053 42,475,521
TOTAL EXPENSES 305,206,256 289,340,759
Current year operating revenues over operating expenses 1,833 88,765
Current year operating revenues and expenses
FY16Operating Revenues
33%
26%
15%
9%
7%6% 4%
85%
11%
FY16 Total
Expenses
4%
Operating Revenue Growth
Program Spending Growth
2006 $150,963,1622008 196,488,1392010 224,159,7282012 244,861,7932014 266,348,163 2016 305,208,089
2006 $125,820,1912008 161,822,1412010 186,770,1752012 205,837,0132014 224,462,191 2016 259,505,203
in m
illio
ns o
f dol
lars
in m
illio
ns o
f dol
lars
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
‘06 ‘08 ‘10 ‘12 ‘14 ‘16
‘06 ‘08 ‘10 ‘12 ‘14 ‘16
WWF-US | 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 31
Non-operating activities 2016 TOTAL 2015 TOTALBequests and endowments 33,502,448 25,605,213
Income from long-term investments (6,671,991) 2,493,919
Unrealized gain (loss) on financing transactions² (3,332,877) (98,432)
Gain (loss) from foreign currency 90,607 (464,095)
Non-operating funds utilized (36,169,349) (34,753,397)
Extraordinary items 0 (9,000,000)
Pledges and contributions designated for future years
Pledges and contributions 56,993,261 38,947,906
Prior years’ revenues used in current year (44,890,579) (43,640,225)
TOTAL NON-OPERATING ACTIVITIES AND PLEDGES (478,480) (20,909,111)
Increase (decrease) in net assets (476,647) (20,820,346)
Net assets at beginning of year 337,033,573 357,853,919
Net assets at end of year $ 336,556,926 $ 337,033,573
¹ Contributions utilized in 2016 include current year contributions of $80,003,560, prior years’ contributions of $44,890,579, and non-operating income of $36,169,349.
² In 2001, WWF issued bonds to finance the purchase of the building housing its offices. Subsequently it entered into various financial transactions to fix the interest rate on all variable rate bonds. These transactions result in either an unrealized gain or loss year to year as market interest rates vary above or below the fixed rate obtained in the transactions.
WWF’s FY16 financial performance remained steady, with total revenues and support at $305.2 million. WWF’s programmatic spending represented 85% of total expenses, fundraising made up 11%, and finance and administration accounted for a modest 4%. Total net assets of $336.5 million is steady with FY15.
Non-operating activities and pledges
GiveWays to
There are many ways to support WWF and protect the future of nature. To learn more or to make a donation, please contact us at 888-993-1100 or worldwildlife.org/donate.
FY 2016
OUTRIGHT GIFTS• Become a Partner in Conservation
• Become a monthly supporter
• Make a onetime cash gift
• Make a charitable gift of stocks, bonds, or mutual funds
• Give a gift membership
• Make a symbolic animal adoption
• Honor a loved one with a tribute gift
LIFE INCOME GIFTS• Give through a WWF Charitable Gift Annuity
or your own Charitable Remainder Trust
• Receive income payments for your lifetime, and leave a legacy for the future of nature
ESTATE GIFTS• Remember WWF in your will or living trust
• Beneficiary designations: leave a portion of your life insurance or retirement plan assets to WWF
WORKPLACE GIVINGAsk if your workplace participates in theseeasy ways to give:
• Corporate Matching Gifts— worldwildlife.org/matching gifts• EarthShare—visit earthshare.org or call 800-875-3863
• Combined Federal Campaign for federal employees—earthshare.org/cfc.html; WWF’s designation number is 12072
85% directed to worldwide
conservation
WWF spending
Photo Credits | Cover: Amazon rain forest, Acre, Brazil © Greg Armfield/WWF-UK; Glacial iceberg, Svalbard, Norway © Paul Souders/worldfoto.com | Page 1: Carter Roberts © WWF-US | Page 2: Amazon rain forest canopy, Tambopata National Reserve, Peru © Day’s Edge Productions/WWF-US | Page 3: Fish catch, Bristol Bay, Alaska © Chris Miller | Page 4: Bengal tigers © Howard W. Buffett/WWF-US | Page 5: Ice, Bering Strait, Alaska © WWF-US/Elisabeth Kruger | Page 6: Driftnet fishers, Bristol Bay, Alaska © Chris Miller; Orangutan with infant, Borneo Island, Indonesia © Jonathan Dee; Salonga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo © Sinziana Demian/WWF-Central Africa; Fishing vessel near the Jacobshavn glacier, Greenland © Global Warming Images/WWF; Bison, Northern Great Plains © WWF-US/Steve Morello | Page 7: Worker picking cotton, Salehpat, Pakistan © Asim Hafee/WWF-UK; Amur tiger © WWF/Klein & Hubert; Camera trap, Gabon © WWF-Canon/James Morgan | Page 8: Elephants, Amboseli National Park, Kenya © Martin Harvey/WWF-Canon; World Wildlife at Sea © WWF-US; Eco-guards patrolling illegal fishing, Gabon © WWF-Canon/Mike Goldwater | Page 9: Bengal tiger cub © Martin Harvey/WWF-Canon; Elephant, Mudumu National Park, Namibia © Will Burrard-Lucas/WWF-US; The apple symbol is a registered trademark of Apple Inc., used with permission; Whitsunday Islands, Great Barrier Coral Reef, Queensland, Australia © naturepl.com/Inaki Relanzon/WWF; Rubbertapper, Brazil © Aurelice Vasconcelos/ICMBio | Page 10: Cropland bordering rain forest, Iguacu National Park, Brazil © Frans Lanting/www.lanting.com | Page 11: Melting iceberg, Arctic Ocean, Canada © Zoe Caron/WWF-Canada | Pages 12–13: Fishing vessel, Bering Sea © Chris Miller/csmphotos.com | Pages 14–15: Industrial farmland bordering rain forest, Iguacu National Park, Brazil © Frans Lanting/www.lanting.com | Pages 16–17: Kingikmiut Nanuuq Patrol keeping an eye out for polar bears, Wales, Alaska © WWF-US/Elisabeth Kruger | Pages 18–19: Blessing ceremony, San Jose, Peru © WWF-US/J.J. Huckin | Pages 20–21: Polar bear mother and cub on loose pack ice, Barents Sea © Florian Schulz/visionsofthewild.com | Pages 22–23: Riverboat taxi, Iquitos, Peru © Alamy Stock Photo/Jake Lyell | Page 24: Mist over rain forest canopy, Manu National Park, Peru © Frans Lanting/www.lanting.com | Page 25: Carter Roberts and Neville Isdell, Livingstone, Zambia © Steve Felton | Pages 28–29: Arctic tern, Jökulsárlón Lake, Iceland © Paul Souders/worldfoto.com | Page 32: Glacier hiker, Valdex, Alaska © Mark Meyer/photo-mark.com | © 2016 WWF. All rights reserved by World Wildlife Fund, Inc. 10-16/1,100
World Wildlife Fund 1250 24th Street, NW | Washington, DC 20037
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